Hecklers interrupted the chancellor’s speech at the Labour conference as they appeared to call for a halt to arms sales to Israel and for action on the environment.
Rachel Reeves was telling the conference in Liverpool how proud she was to be the UK’s first-ever female chancellor when shouting came from the hall.
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A young man in the middle of the audience stood up and could be heard shouting: “We are still selling arms to Israel, I thought we voted for change Rachel, climate breakdown is on our doorstep.”
Others shouted: “Free Palestine.”
Shouts of “stop oil” were also heard from around the audience.
Another man in front of the first heckler appeared to be trying to roll out a banner but an audience member in front of him grabbed it.
Security guards in the hall ran to the men and bundled them out quickly as the audience booed and shouted “down, down”.
Ms Reeves appeared stony-faced as she responded by declaring Labour has become “a party that represents working people, not a party of protest”.
She was cheered by the audience, who gave her a standing ovation.
Campaign group Climate Resistance has claimed responsibility for the protest and accused security of “violently” apprehending one of their protesters.
A statement from the group said campaigners argue “donations from polluting industries and Israel lobbyists to Labour are to blame for the government’s inaction”.
Earlier this month, the government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel.
They said three of their members, who are also Labour Party members, were arrested and questioned by police for 30 minutes before being driven away from the venue and “de-arrested”.
Rachel Reeves was heckled during her speech
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‘No return to austerity’
The heckling lasted just a few moments and Ms Reeves continued with her speech, in which she attempted to strike a more optimistic tone than the months of doom and gloom from her and Sir Keir Starmer about the UK’s economy.
She said: “Because I know how much damage has been done in those 14 years, let me say one thing straight up: there will be no return to austerity. Conservative austerity was a destructive choice for our public services and for investment and growth too.
“Yes, we must deal with the Tory legacy and that means tough decisions but I won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain.
“So it will be a budget with real ambition, a budget to fix the foundations, a budget to deliver the change that we promised, a budget to rebuild Britain.”
The autumn budget will take place on 30 October, with the chancellor expected to impose some tax rises.
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Speech’s only policy surprise
Ms Reeves used her conference speech to announce £7m of funding for a pilot scheme to introduce breakfast clubs to 750 primary schools across England this summer term.
The government will then look to expand the scheme to provide breakfast to all state school pupils aged four to 11 in England – one of Labour’s manifesto pledges. The pilot will be used to find out the best way of rolling out the policy.
Rachel Reeves announced a breakfast club rollout. Pic: iStock
The chancellor said it is “an investment in our young people, an investment in reducing child poverty and investment in our economy”.
“I will judge my time in office a success if I know that at the end of it, there are working class kids from ordinary backgrounds who lead richer lives, their horizons expanded, able to achieve and to thrive,” she added.
About 12% of state schools in England already offer a taxpayer-subsidised breakfast club for schools with at least 40% of pupils from income-deprived areas through the National School Breakfast Club Programme (NSBP). But this funding ends in July 2025.
